David Hare | Criticism

SOURCE: “Whose Faust Is It Anyway,” in The New Republic, November 18, 1996, pp. 28-30.

In the following review, Brustein gives a negative evaluation of Skylight, though he praises the performance of Michael Gambon in the Royale Theatre production of the play.

David Hare’s new play, Skylight (Royale Theatre), has the advantage of a really shattering performance by Michael Gambon, who at the present time may very well be the most powerful actor in the English-speaking world. You don’t care a whit that this hulking figure is somewhat miscast as a natty capitalist, or that he’s starring in a rather anemic play.

The argument between Gambon’s character, the middle-aged Tom Sergeant, and his considerably younger lover, Kyra Hollis (strongly performed by Lia Williams), echoes the debate Bernard Shaw concocted between the millionaire arms dealer Andrew Undershaft and his Salvation Army daughter, Major Barbara. Sergeant runs a...